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“We don’t know yet.” Molly’s voice was steady, her grip hard enough to anchor him. “We will find out. I promise.”
He brought his free hand to his eyes, then down to cover his mouth. Then his heart stuttered. Oh shit. “Dusty.” He grabbed his phone and redialed Burke. “Dusty Woodruff,” he said as soon as Burke answered. “He’s my friend. The owner of the funeral home. If they got to Dr. McLain...”
“I’ll check,” Burke said. “Stay where you are, both of you.”
Gabe stared at his phone. Burke had ended the call. He hadn’t told Gabe not to worry. He hadn’t said Gabe was imagining things.
He’d simply ended the call. So that he could check.
“Gabe,” Molly murmured.
“Don’t tell me that it’s not my fault.” His heart was beating so hard, it was almost all he could hear. “I involved them. Dr. McLain died.”
“Could she have filed the autopsy report with the police as evidence that your father didn’t kill himself?” she asked gently.
“No. I don’t think so, anyway. I asked her to give me some time. A few days. She said she would. I came straight to you. I didn’t—” His voice broke. “I didn’t warn her. I didn’t warn Dusty. Oh my God. I didn’t warn them.”
She said nothing. Uttered no platitudes. Just sat with him, holding his hand.
Time passed. It felt like hours, but his phone told him it was only minutes until Burke called again. “I’m sorry, Gabe,” he said heavily.
No. No. No, no, no.Gabe wanted to throw his phone against the wall. He wanted to scream. He wanted to find whoever killed his father and—
He blinked, unsurprised when hot tears streamed down his cheeks. Tears of horror. Tears of shame. But mostly tears of rage. “I’ve never truly hated someone before this whole thing started,” he said, not recognizing his own voice. “But I do now.”
“I know,” Burke said. “Trust me, I know.”
So does Molly, Gabe thought and waited for her to say so. But she didn’t.
“How did Mr. Woodruff die?” she asked quietly.
Gabe turned to look at her, to find her staring at him, her blue-green eyes full of pain. For him. It should have helped. Maybe it would later. Right now...
Two people are dead because of me.
“He was found in his car yesterday evening. He’d run into a tree.”
Molly didn’t look away, holding Gabe’s gaze. “Has anyone checked to see if Rocky’s body is still in Dr. McLain’s lab?”
Burke made an anguished, strangled sound. “No. I didn’t... Dammit, Molly. I didn’t even think of that. We need to find that out.”
Rage erupted in Gabe’s chest and he sucked in a breath from the impact. That they might have taken his father’s body on top of everything else?
“I’m...” Burke sighed. “I’m going to have to level with André. Tell him what we know.”
Something inside him broke. “So that’s it?” Gabe shouted. “You’re quitting?”
“Absolutely not,” Burke snapped. “We’re going to keep on this until we get justice for your father and for these latest victims. I give you my word, Gabe. But we have to share information with at least André. Before, when the police had declared Rocky’s death a suicide, we could investigate on our own, to prove them wrong. But this is bigger now. We have information that could aid investigators in solving two more homicides.”
Gabe closed his eyes, grateful that Molly hadn’t let go of his hand. “I know. But I don’t trust them.”
Burke sighed again. “Neither do I. Except for André and a few others that I know personally. I don’t know how high this goes in the NOPD, but somebody knows something.”
“What are the chances that we can pay Mr. Eckert a visit in jail?” Molly asked.
Gabe opened his eyes to study her. She was calm, cool, collected, and... coldly furious. Something eased in his chest. He wasn’t alone in his rage. The only difference was that she wasn’t too angry to think. It was a small comfort.
“Nil,” Burke answered. “Eckert’s a known hit man. Cops just weren’t able to get anything to stick in the past. They’re going to keep him to themselves.”
